Περίληψη / Summary
Η μονή της Παναγίας Μαυριώτισσας, χτισμένη σε παρόχθιο σημείο της χερσονήσου της Καστοριάς και σε απόσταση περί τα 5 χλμ. από την πόλη, συνιστά ένα από τα κυριότερα μνημεία της Καστοριάς, και γενικότερα ένα σημαντικό βυζαντινό μνημείο, που έχει τύχει της προσοχής πολλών μελετητών της βυζαντινής τέχνης με αντικείμενο την αρχιτεκτονική και, ιδίως, τις τοιχογραφίες του σωζόμενου καθολικού της.
Moustakas Konstantinos, Early Historical Records on the Monastery of Mavriotissa in Kastoria (1530)
The monastic church of the Virgin Mavriotissa near Kastoria is an important Byzantine monument, which has received a proper attention by scholars of Byzantine art who have produced numerous studies on its architecture and, mainly, its surviving frescoes. However, the history of the monastery itself is obscure until as late as the late 17th century. Some basic dates can be established by the features of the church-building it side the town or at its outskirts, all of them being small family foundations with one or a handful of monks. Mavriotissa is not included in this list, most probably due to its relatively distant position outside the town. Its vakıf properties consisted then of vineyards and arable lands in the village of Mavrovo, which appears in both of the registers used in this study as the most populous and productive in the district of Kastoria. These data confirm the particular association of Mavriotissa with the village of Mavrovo, that is known from later day sources too, and probably explains the monastery's name.self, dating to the late 11th century, as well as by its frescoes with their earliest layer dating to the 13th century. Some fragments of dedicatory inscriptions are of little help due to serious gaps in their text. The essential historical facts about the monastery, such as its status, property, political and social connections, even its name, were not existent to date for the periods prior to the late 17th century, when a body of documents, preserved in the diocese of Kastoria and now in the National Library of Athens, do provide some relevant information.
In this paper, new data come to light that provide some essential information about the situation of Mavriotissa monastery in the 1520's, revealing the historical conditions of the monastery in a period more than a century and a half earlier than it could be reconstructed to date. These new data are found in register Tahrir Defteri 167 of the Başbakanlık Arşivleri / Istanbul, dated in the year 1530, which has recently been published in facsimile form by the archival service of Turkey. The relevant entry of the register is reproduced in this study, edited in latin script and accompanied by translation into Greek, serving as a basis for the subsequent study.
The monastery of Mavriotissa was then one of the three Christian religious foundations in the district of Kastoria that enjoyed a privileged treatment by the Ottoman authorities through their vakıf status, the other two being the bishopric of Kastoria and another monastery dedicated to St. Nicholas. The Ottoman authorities granted such a privileged status only to the most important and prestigious monasteries, obviously for political reasons. In so far as Mavriotissa is concerned, this monastery should have been of particular importance locally, probably enjoying a special prestige and privilege in late Byzantine times already, which we interpret as a result of the ideological symbolisms it was endowed with, as suggested by the interpretation of some of its frescoes, that made it a symbol of the idealized bonds between the town of Kastoria and Palaiologan authority.
The monastery of Mavriotissa, as well as the aforementioned one of St. Nicholas, were the only privileged ones, to have been granted vakıf status, among several monasteries of Kastoria that existed in the late middle ages and early modern times. A register of c. 1445 includes a list of eighteen monasteries - not to be confused with parish churches - in side the town or at its outskirts, all of them being small family fooundations with one or a handful of monks. Mavriotissa is not included in this list, most probably due to its relatively distant position outside the town. Its vakıf properties consisted then of vineyards and arable lands in the village of Mavrovo, which appears in both of the registers used in this study as the most populous and productive in the district of Kastoria. These data confirm the particular association of Mavriotissa with the village of Mavrovo, that is known from later day sources too, and probably explains the monastery's name.
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